Ed Port ready for seventh surgery today

A township man is to have his seventh surgery in 17 months today, to remove tumors that covered much of his face and parts of his body.

Dr. McKay McKinnon, a Chicago plastic surgeon, is to operate this morning on Ed Port, 43, who suffers from neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition that causes tumors. The surgery is at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago.

“He’s going to be operating on the eye,” Port explained beforehand. “The bottom part of eye doesn’t close as much as he wants it to so he’s going to do a skin graft, taking the skin from behind my right ear.”

The doctor is to remove some of the smaller tumors from the back of Port’s head. He expects to be out sick from his job at a Mahoning Valley call center for at least a month while he recovers. No fundraisers are scheduled although Port says he hopes to plan something soon.

But today’s surgery is minor compared to some others he’s endured.

In June 2011, the first time Dr. McKinnon operated on Port, the procedure lasted more than 12 hours, a large tumor that covered the left side of his face was removed and a portion of Port’s skull along with a titanium plate were used to rebuild the facial features around his eye and cheek. The second surgery that same year took about 10 hours.

More surgeries — and complications from infections — followed. Port’s fifth and sixth surgeries both occurred last month and he expects at least two more procedures after today.

While in Chicago, Port also plans to speak with an ophthalmologist and an ear, nose and throat specialist. Previous surgeries have left him with limited vision in his left eye and a recurring infection behind his left ear.